History

@Lucius_Gellius @DimitriTilloi @Archeonationale @museesgallo @RAeliusVictor @RomanBinchester https://t.co/Duj5ttPlGl

— T S P (@morangles) March 11, 2024

 

An Insight

International Women's Day where elite women go on TV or write op-eds and ordinary women clock into their nine-to-fives reminds me of when Trump was elected and elite students and profs stayed at home and cried while custodial staff still came in to mop floors and clean gutters.

— Rob Henderson (@robkhenderson) March 8, 2024

 

If we do not penalize false statements made in error, we open up the way for false statements by intention.

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 373.  A discussion which seems strangely pertinent to our current academia where DEI appointees plagiarize like it is going out of fashion and 70% or more of research papers in some fields fail to replicate.  

“I’ve no objection to scientific pot-boilers,” said Miss Edwards. “I mean, a popular book isn’t necessarily unscientific.”

“So long,” said Wimsey, “as it doesn’t falsify the facts. But it might be a different kind of thing. To take a concrete instance-somebody wrote a novel called The Search-”

      

“C. P. Snow,” said Miss Burrows. “It’s funny you should mention that. It was the book that the-”

     

“I know,” said Peter. “That’s possibly why it was in my mind.”

 

“I never read the book,” said the Warden.

“Oh, I did,” said the Dean. “It’s about a man who starts out to be a scientist and gets on very well till, just as he’s going to be appointed to an important executive post, he finds he’s made a careless error in a scientific paper. He didn’t check his assistant’s results, or something. Somebody finds out, and he doesn’t get the job. So he decides he doesn’t really care about science after all.”

“Obviously not,” said Miss Edwards. “He only cared about the post.”

“But,” said Miss Chilperic, “if it was only a mistake-”

“The point about it,” said Wimsey, “is what an elderly scientist says to him. He tells “him: ‘The only ethical principle which has made science possible is that the truth shall be told all the time. If we do not penalize false statements made in error, we open up the way for false statements by intention. And a false statement of fact, made deliberately, is the most serious crime a scientist can commit.’ Words to that effect. I may not be quoting quite correctly.”

“Well, that’s true, of course. Nothing could possibly excuse deliberate falsification.”

“There’s no sense in deliberate falsification, anyhow,” said the Bursar. “What could anybody gain by it?”

“It has been done”, said Miss Hillyard, “frequently. To get the better of an argument. Or out of ambition.”

“Ambition to be what?” cried Miss Lydgate. “What satisfaction could one possibly get out of a reputation one knew one didn’t deserve? It would be horrible.”

      

Her innocent indignation upset everybody’s gravity.

Academia, in its treatment of Claudine Gray and others of her ilk, are demonstrating plagiarism and data falsification are no longer the sins they once were and that the pursuit of Truth is no longer the mission of academia.  Committing the right sins, or committing them in the name of the right cause, will get you appointments rather than dismissal.  

I see wonderful things

Once every few years, the Namibian desert experiences what is known as the Sandhof lily bloom.

The lily bulbs sit in the clay beneath the desert floor, waiting patiently for years some centimers of rainfall.pic.twitter.com/S8IkuSiLID

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 9, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

we just lived through an astonishingly unethical psychology experiment that had a very low pass rate.

our societal substrate recoils at this knowledge because too many were too complicit for too long.

they want to forget.

but we need to remember or this will happen again. https://t.co/Of88DpAlPl pic.twitter.com/qEsTFrpKXz

— el gato malo (@boriquagato) March 11, 2024

 

Data Talks

Wharton statistician looks at Hamas’ casualty data and concludes they are likely falsifying to maintain a rolling mean & linear growth — and they don’t know how to avoid making anomalies obvious to Western analysts

Women:Children R2=0.017
Men:Women is *negative* with R2 = 0.835 pic.twitter.com/ZD7JxmXMxI

— Max Meyer (@mualphaxi) March 10, 2024

 

Ruins Of The Roman Theatre At Taormina, Sicily by William Stanley Haseltine (American, 1835 – 1900)

Ruins Of The Roman Theatre At Taormina, Sicily by William Stanley Haseltine (American, 1835 – 1900)

Click to enlarge.

If she bid them, they will go barefoot to Jerusalem

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 343.

“Harriet rang up the Mitre before breakfast.

      

“Peter, could you possibly come round this morning instead of at six o’clock?”

“Within five minutes, when and where you will. ‘If she bid them, they will go barefoot to Jerusalem, to the great Cham’s court, to the East Indies, to fetch her a bird to wear in her hat.’ Has anything happened?”

“Nothing alarming; a little evidence in situ. But you may finish the bacon and eggs.”

“I will be at the Jowett Walk Lodge in half an hour.”

The allusion, "If she bid them," is from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton.  

History

Sofonisba Anguissola ~ whom van Dyck described as “the miraculous painter from life” ~ creates her own self-portrait by painting her tutor Bernadino Campi painting a portrait of her (1559) pic.twitter.com/LN27Vq7KEG

— Journal of Art in Society (@artinsociety) March 11, 2024

 

An Insight

But there is one power that will **always** be greater than govt and that is reality. The role of govt should be to align with reality, to become maximally truth seeking for its own sake, otherwise spurned reality will destroy it. Nemesis always follows Hubris.

— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) March 6, 2024

I see wonderful things

Biomedical innovation is miraculous pic.twitter.com/YbBhD7hEXV

— Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp) March 9, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

Mel Brooks is a comedic genius pic.twitter.com/EDZoxz1ifz

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) March 10, 2024

 

Data Talks

Disruptive pupils reduce the life outcomes of classmates and make teacher’s lives a misery. Why should schools have to teach them? https://t.co/eLgm8qeqJv my latest pic.twitter.com/ZuQOpgBQRx

— Ed West (@edwest) March 6, 2024

 

Robert Fulton by James Henry Cafferty (American, 1819 – 1869)

Robert Fulton by James Henry Cafferty (American, 1819 – 1869)

Click to enlarge

Great Tom, tolling his nightly hundred-and-one

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 242.

April was running out, chilly and fickle, but with the promise of good things to come; and the city wore the withdrawn and secretive beauty that wraps her about in vacation. No clamour of young voices echoed along her ancient stones; the tumult of flying bicycles was stilled in the narrow strait of the Turf; in Radcliffe Square the Camera slept like a cat in the sunshine, disturbed only by the occasional visit of a slow-footed don; even in the High, the roar of car and charabanc seemed diminished and brought low, for the holiday season was not yet; punts and canoes, new-fettled for the summer term, began to put forth upon the Cherwell like the varnished buds upon the horse-chestnut tree, but as yet there was no press of traffic upon the shining reaches; the mellow bells, soaring and singing in tower and steeple, told of time’s flight through an eternity of peace; and Great Tom, tolling his nightly hundred-and-one, called home only the rooks from off Christ Church Meadow.

Great Tom and the tolling one 101?  From Wikipedia:

Great Tom is still sounded 101 times every night, which signifies the 100 original scholars of the college plus one (added in 1663). It is rung at 21:05 current UK time, which corresponds to 21:00 in what used to be "Oxford time" (local mean time for Oxford, noon in Oxford always occurring five minutes later than noon in Greenwich), and was at one time the signal for all the Oxford colleges to lock their gates. The bell is only rung by swinging on very special occasions.  

History

Giant Persian Griffin (516-465 BC), Persepolis, Iran.

The word "Griffin" comes from Old French word "griffon," which was used to refer to both the legendary animal and birds of prey in general. Late Latin word "Gryphus," which was derived from an incorrect spelling of ancient… pic.twitter.com/VKfakviPZ1

— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) March 10, 2024

 

An Insight

If you didn't have an AOL screen name, you haven't been through a full real estate market cycle, and don't know what real fear is.

Best,

DMBAntsMarching

— StripMallGuy (@realEstateTrent) March 6, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

Dust from the Sahara covered this Spanish ski resort , a visual of North Africa’s importance to the rest of the world

The most emptiest and parched area of the world supplies vital nutrients through this dust for rainforests and ocean life 1/
pic.twitter.com/HYD2ZAoUOk

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) March 8, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

A short primer on the Modern Left. https://t.co/dGCxWZOrzv

— Bex (@BexStreams) March 9, 2024

 

Data Talks

In the US, 5% of women are blonde. Among female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, 48% are blonde

Female senators: 35% blonde

Blonde privilege but not height privilege for women apparently. Just 2.2% of male F500 CEOs are blonde https://t.co/FOrmiAyl2v

— Noor Siddiqui (@noor_siddiqui_) February 29, 2024

 

Wild Flowers at the Corner of a Cornfield, c.1855–60 by Martha Darley Mutrie

Wild Flowers at the Corner of a Cornfield, c.1855–60 by Martha Darley Mutrie 

Click to enlarge.

But one halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack!

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 224.

“Harriet said nothing, but continued to make out the cheques.

“One thing, there doesn’t seem to be much at Blackwell’s. A mere trifle of six pounds twelve.”

“One halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack.”

Harriet Vane is helping a student get his finances in order, primarily by discovering the expenses owed.  There are many cheques to be written for gambling, dining, and libatious indulgences.  

Having been to Oxford a number of times in my boarding school days, I know of Blackwells.  The counterpart in Cambridge was Heffers.  Both are major bookstores service the academic community of their respective universities.  Or what a heaven each are for a bibliophile.  So the student's expenses for books are a trifle to the expenses for inebriating pastimes.  

“One halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack" is almost certainly Shakespeare again, probably something to do with Falstaff, so Henry IV?  An artful critique of the student's spending priorities by Vane.

OK.  It is Prince Henry speaking about Falstaff in Henry IV.  And the scene is a close match to the circumstances of the student.  In this instance, Falstaff is suspected of a crime.  Peto is Prince Henry friend.  

PRINCE HENRY

This oily rascal is known as well as Paul’s. Go call him forth.

PETO

Falstaff!— [pulls back the arras] Fast asleep behind the arras, and snorting like a horse.

PRINCE HENRY

Hark, how hard he fetches breath. Search his pockets.

PETO searcheth his pockets, and findeth certain papers

What hast thou found?

PETO

Nothing but papers, my lord.

PRINCE HENRY

Let’s see what they be. Read them.

PETO

(reads) Item, a capon, … 2s. 2d.

Item, sauce, … 4d.

Item, sack, two gallons, … 5s. 8d.

Item, anchovies and sack after supper, , , , 2s. 6d.

Item, bread, ob. [halfpenny]

PRINCE HENRY

O monstrous! But one halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack! 

History

Etruscans were an Italian Civilization (8th-3rd Centuries BC), were known for their impressive artistry and craftsmanship, particularly in jewelry-making. Etruscan jewelry was not only a symbol of wealth and status but also had spiritual and cultural significance.

One of most… pic.twitter.com/tpv9ZA5S7c

— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) March 9, 2024

 

An Insight

And thousand year old trees are being exposed from below the ice. Why were these trees growing here, a thousand years ago at pre-industrial levels of CO2? https://t.co/ApWiVbsjLw pic.twitter.com/gXdRWjKNZg

— Dr. Matthew M. Wielicki (@MatthewWielicki) March 6, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

The awesome power and stunning beauty of a humpback whale breaching seen up close.

📽: Beau Pilgrim pic.twitter.com/Y1I1VMrG3d

— Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) March 8, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

As of March 7, Sweden has become a member of NATO, bringing with them sophisticated logistical capabilities. To save 90% on fuel and storage costs, from now on, all NATO tanks, trucks, howitzers, and APCs will be transported in flat boxes and assembled on site when needed. pic.twitter.com/HFPvWuH4fF

— Carl (@HistoryBoomer) March 7, 2024

 

Data Talks

419 Swedish economists were asked which economics concepts are most important to understand and manage economics "for an individual" and "for a citizen", respectively.

Opportunity cost was the most popular answer to both questions.https://t.co/wGQNdmzyrI pic.twitter.com/OoPK2xEMrX

— Stefan Schubert (@StefanFSchubert) March 4, 2024

 

The Dream of St. Ursula, 1495 by Vittore Carpaccio

The Dream of St. Ursula, 1495 by Vittore Carpaccio

Click to enlarge.

Be patient and let time pasee

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 190.

“You’re dead right,” said Harriet, after a pause. “If one’s genuinely interested one knows how to be patient, and let time pass, as Queen Elizabeth said. Perhaps that’s the meaning of the phrase about genius being eternal patience, which I always thought rather absurd. If you truly want a thing, you don’t snatch; if you snatch, you don’t really want it. Do you suppose that, if you find yourself taking pains about a thing, it’s a proof of its importance to you?”

Two items in this paragraph.  Be patient and let time pass.  Queen Elizabeth I or II?  I am assuming I but I don't know the context.  Here it is.  In 1580 Queen Elizabeth was in negotiations regarding her possible marriage.  England was Church of England from her father's actions and there was strong interest on the continent to bring England back into the Roman fold, preferably by marriage rather than war.  From a letter she wrote during these negotiations. 

“You do not forget, mon tres cher, that the greatest cause of delay [in arranging a match] is due to this [agitation by English zealots against a Catholic marriage], that our people ought to congratulate and to applaud. To bring this about I have let time pass, which generally helps more than reasoning.”

"Genius is eternal patience" is a quote ascribed to Michelangelo.  

History

Souvenir pens are nothing new. This Roman stylus was excavated in London in 2019. It is engraved with an inscription showing it was bought as a souvenir gift for a loved one: 'I have come from the city. I bring you a welcome gift with a sharp point that you may remember me...' pic.twitter.com/V2xQBawQhN

— Gareth Harney (@OptimoPrincipi) January 7, 2023

 

An Insight

Americans are moving away from the office. Employees hired in 2023 now live 35 miles from office, up from 10 miles in 2019.

So firms now are hiring in a much bigger area.

Which is why RTOs are now so hard - folks don't live near the office anymore.
https://t.co/RgwnKklk4p pic.twitter.com/FV8zZkEIWn

— Nick Bloom (@I_Am_NickBloom) March 5, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

What is the name of this animal? pic.twitter.com/wDuaM4mhyL

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) March 9, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

There were eight Davids in my high school class of 94 people. I think about that every time I see tweets like this. https://t.co/lxhVV5Z14i

— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) March 6, 2024

 

Data Talks

Doing Educational Equity Right: The Homework Gap https://t.co/v21AwzgUTd

— RealClearEducation (@RealClearEd) March 4, 2024

 

Self-portrait, 1559 by Sofonisba Anguissola

Self-portrait, 1559 by Sofonisba Anguissola

Click to enlarge.

Amiable absurdity

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 165.

Harriet was opening her mouth to say No, when she looked at Mr. Pomfret, and her heart softened. He had the appeal of a very young dog of a very large breed-a kind of amiable absurdity.

History

A Wedjat Eye Amulet (1077-664 BC), from Tanis (archaeological site in northeastern Nile Delta), Egypt.

One of the most popular amulets in ancient Egypt, the wedjat eye represents the healed eye of the god Horus. It depicts a combination of a human and a falcon eye, since Horus… pic.twitter.com/13KwRznLFu

— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) March 9, 2024

 

An Insight

This headline reads: “without policies that discriminate against whites and Asians and judge applicant solely based on merit, black women can’t succeed”

The soft racism of low expectations on display https://t.co/x9tBmDEuNL

— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) March 4, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

Love this 😂 pic.twitter.com/CSnHJl0LKT

— कान्हा चौधरी 😎(पांवणा जी)💞 (@kanhachoudhary0) March 7, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

“We would like you to prosecute and imprison violent criminals instead of letting them run amok”

*long pause*

“Best we can do is TSA the subway” https://t.co/jdAZUxwGIZ

— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) March 7, 2024

 

Data Talks

The Sahara is really something. A half-million square miles larger than the lower 48 of the US, with hardly anyone living in it. pic.twitter.com/jRsrv2uYrH

— i/o (@eyeslasho) March 4, 2024

 

Inseparable by David Hettinger ( b.1946, American painter)

Inseparable  by David Hettinger ( b.1946, American painter)

Click to enlarge.

All women are sensitive to male criticism. Men are not sensitive to female criticism. They despise the critics.

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 55.

“Do you know any man who sincerely admires a woman for her brains?”

     

“Well,” said Harriet, “certainly not many.”  

“You may think you know one,” said Miss Hillyard with a bitter emphasis. “Most of us think at some time or other that we know one. But the man usually has some other little axe to grind.”

      

“Very likely,” said Harriet. “You don’t seem to have a very high opinion of men-of the male character, I mean, as such.”

      

“No,” said Miss Hillyard, “not very high. But they have an admirable talent for imposing their point of view on society in general. All women are sensitive to male criticism. Men are not sensitive to female criticism. They despise the critics.”

History

The Newport Arch - the remains of the north gateway to Roman Lincoln (Lindum Colonia). Built in around 200 AD, the arch is the only Roman gateway in the UK still used by traffic. #RomanSiteSaturday #RomanBritain #Lincoln 📸 My own. pic.twitter.com/pGc4IhUo1q

— Kevin Wilbraham (@KPW1453) March 9, 2024

 

An Insight

“Meanwhile, utilities keep installing “renewables” that drive up rates. Because, unlike EV’s, you can’t opt out. Until you vote.”

People never learn. pic.twitter.com/P0FTVb4v2Q

— Douglas Ritz (@douglasritz) March 4, 2024

 

You are what you read?

I am not confident that this rises to the level of useful information but it certainly meets the criteria of intriguing data.  From Where Jurors in Trump Hush-Money Trial Say They Get Their News by Charlie Smart.  The subheading is Prosecutors and defense lawyers tried to divine the political leanings of prospective jurors in the former president’s Manhattan criminal trial from their answers to questions about what media they consume.

Twelve jurors and six alternates, eighteen in total.  Probably overwhelmingly from the top three quintiles of New Yorkers.  Certainly strongly Democrats and Progressives.  

Lots of caveats.  Self-report surveys are notoriously unreliable.  On the other hand, it is a court related matter where people are perhaps more likely to be honest.  Maybe.  On the other hand some people might use their answers to try and get themselves screened out of a high profile case while others might do the very opposite.  So all sorts of reasons to be suspect of the accuracy of the responses.  

Are these the news sources representative of those for most Americans?  Probably not.  Are they the news sources representative of those for most urban residents?  Maybe.

Here are the answers.  

    

Click to enlarge.

Only for this particular trial, what does the epistemic world look like, given the reading and viewing habits of this particular New York City jury?

2 (11%) of the jurors consume no news.

2 (11%) get their news from only a single source.

6 (33%) get their news from at least two sources.

8 (45%) get their news from at least three sources or more.

Seemingly a reasonably well informed population (defining well informed as consuming a lot of news which is, in itself, a debatable proposition).  

But what about the orientation and disposition of those news sources?  Ideally, one hypothetically everyone to consume two conservative oriented news sources, two progressive, and 2 neutral.  Much more than most people consume.

Stipulating that the news rooms (independent of the editorial desk) all tend to be overwhelmingly progressive/Democrat, and acknowledging no one is scrupulously neutral, I assigned most news sources based on their general reputation and readership.  I used the Hunter Biden Laptop as a general indicator.

Conservative press/platforms (5): The Daily Mail, Fox News, The New York Post, Truth Social, The Wall Street Journal

Liberal/Progressive (11):  BBC, CNBC, CNN, Facebook, Google, MSNBC, The New York Times, Reuters, USA Today, The Washington Post, WNYC

Neutral (3): NY1, TikTok, X

Each of these could be argued, especially by degree, but I think the assessments reasonably comport with evidence.  5 conservative platforms, 11 progressive, and 3 neutral sounds about right for New York City.

Now, the key question, from an epistemic perspective, just how close minded is the jury pool?  If the ideal is that people get lots of information from many perspectives, how close does this jury pool come to that ideal?

Again, recognizing that the eighteen members ranged from zero news sources up to five, I looked at the mix of sources for each juror.  If all their sources were from one side or the other, I classified that as 100%.  If, for example, someone got news from The New York Times and from TikTok (one progressive and one neutral), I classified them as leans progressive.  If they, for example, read both The New York Times and The New York Post (one progressive and one conservative), I classified that as Heterodox.  If they only got news from neutral sources, then Neutral.  

The results are:

100% Con - 0% of the jury

100% Lib - 39% 

Lean Con - 6%

Lean Lib - 17%

Heterodox - 28%

Neutral - 0%

None - 11%

Right out of the starting gates, 56% (39+17) have news which overwhelmingly or strongly leans towards a progressive view of the world.  Uh oh.  

Only 6% present as at all conservative.  

Robust discussion and assessment clearly depends hugely upon the five individuals who present as Heterodox (one of whom is an alternate.)

There is a limit to what how much reliance can be placed on this data but it is perhaps indicative.

Other sources for reality checks:

Sources of news:  https://www.4media-group.com/blog/intelligence/more-than-half-of-u-s-consumers-watch-tv-news-and-read-news-online/ 

Most popular news platforms:  https://www.statista.com/statistics/717651/most-popular-news-platforms/ 

Where Americans get their news:  https://www.prdaily.com/where-americans-get-their-news-new-data-from-pew-research/ 

Pew Social Media and News Fact Sheet:  https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-fact-sheet/ 

 

I see wonderful things

Cruise ship being built

[📹 cranes work]pic.twitter.com/WiglB319ys

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 6, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

I don't know if I want to live in a world where our heroic civic-minded billionaire professional sports team owners are expected to pay for their own arenas https://t.co/T95BcnW0qd

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) March 7, 2024

 

Data Talks

New Study on Kids' Mental Health Treatment/Need, by Family Structure:

✔️ 14% Married Bio
✔️ 24% Single Mother
✔️ 27% Married Stepfamily
✔️ 30% Unmarried cohabitating
✔️ 44% Foster

Source: Dr. Nicholas Zill https://t.co/b2p937XiLA @FamStudies pic.twitter.com/ufLddN6NX1

— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) March 4, 2024

 

Showery Landscape. Jægerspris, Zealand 1898 by Johannes Bentzen-Bilkvist

Showery Landscape. Jægerspris, Zealand 1898 by Johannes Bentzen-Bilkvist

Click to enlarge.

A lady with a turn for invective remarkable even in an age when few mouths suffered from mealiness

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 52.  

Passing through the empty Hall, later in the day, she stopped to stare at the portrait of that Mary Countess of Shrewsbury, in whose honor the college had been founded. The painting was a well-executed modern copy of the one in St. John’s College Cambridge, and the queer, strong-featured face, with its ill-tempered mouth and sidelong, secretive glance, had always exercised a curious fascination over her-even in her student days, a period when the portraits of dead and gone celebrities exposed in public places incur more sarcastic comment than reverential consideration. She did not know, and indeed had never troubled to inquire, how Shrewsbury College had come to adopt so ominous a patroness. Bess of Hardwick’s daughter had been a great intellectual, indeed, but something of a holy terror; uncontrollable by her men folk, undaunted by the Tower, contemptuously silent before the Privy Council, an obstinate recusant, a staunch friend and implacable enemy and a lady with a turn for invective remarkable even in an age when few mouths suffered from mealiness. She seemed, in fact, to be the epitome of every alarming quality which a learned woman is popularly credited with developing. Her husband, the “great and glorious Earl of Shrewsbury,” had purchased domestic peace at a price; for, said Bacon, there was “a greater than he, which is my Lady of Shrewsbury.” 

History

just found out that an 11th century man named "horny rick" popularised shoes that were so gay, they made them illegal pic.twitter.com/d7aaDWERoF

— weird medieval guys BOOK OUT NOW !! (@WeirdMedieval) March 8, 2024

 

An Insight

 

Click to enlarge.

I see wonderful things

This bird you're seeing is the Eurasian wryneck, a woodpecker known for its ability to mimic a forest snake as a defence strategy

📹Dr Stanley Tang
pic.twitter.com/YM5mwr2yEm

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) March 6, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

https://t.co/YyKMe2r6lw pic.twitter.com/kWQ3iazdJs

— Razib 🥥 Khan 🧬 📘✍️📱 (@razibkhan) March 6, 2024

 

Data Talks

1/ New peer-reviewed:
“The Covid-19 lesson from Sweden: Don’t lock down”

“Finland & Norway, w/ lowest avg lockdown rate show lowest excess mortality—displaying a negative excess mortality rate. Sweden.. has one of lowest cumulative excess mortality rates”https://t.co/Kyx3MXMuJD

— Kulvinder Kaur MD (@dockaurG) March 4, 2024

 

Winter Window by Kaoru Yamada

Winter Window by Kaoru Yamada 

Click to enlarge.

The easy answer? Cultivate values and behaviors.

From Social Movements and Public Opinion in the United States by Amory Gethin & Vincent Pons.  From the Abstract.

Recent social movements stand out by their spontaneous nature and lack of stable leadership, raising doubts on their ability to generate political change. This article provides systematic evidence on the effects of protests on public opinion and political attitudes. Drawing on a database covering the quasi-universe of protests held in the United States, we identify 14 social movements that took place from 2017 to 2022, covering topics related to environmental protection, gender equality, gun control, immigration, national and international politics, and racial issues. We use Twitter data, Google search volumes, and high-frequency surveys to track the evolution of online interest, policy views, and vote intentions before and after the outset of each movement. Combining national-level event studies with difference-in-differences designs exploiting variation in local protest intensity, we find that protests generate substantial internet activity but have limited effects on political attitudes. Except for the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, which shifted views on racial discrimination and increased votes for the Democrats, we estimate precise null effects of protests on public opinion and electoral behavior.

So protests generate zero impact on public opinion.  And I suspect the one exception (BLM) is just a lag issue.  BLM => Police Defunding => Rising Crime => Restoration of Policing.  

A couple of days ago I posted $11 billion spent (some of it being directly from taxes and most of it being indirectly from taxes) on helping 83,000 people with no measurable benefits achieved.   Social policies almost always fail, fail expensively, and many catastrophically.  

So the research indicates

Social movements don't change anything.

Social policies don't change anything.

That overstates it a bit.  But perhaps not by too much.  

Perhaps Heraclitus (2,500 years ago) had it right all along.

Character is destiny.

Again, overstating it a bit.  But perhaps not by too much.

You want progress.  Forget teachable moments, fundamental transformations, silver bullet policies, national conversations, and mass movements.  Cultivate values and behaviors.  

Language of a place and time

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 50.  I attended a small English boarding school (and an American one) and there is definitely a unique language of things and places.  

Sunday lunch in Hall was a casual affair.

[snip]

Harriet, having seized a plate of cold ham for herself, looked round for a lunch partner, and was thankful to see Phoebe Tucker just come in and being helped by the attendant scout to a portion of cold roast beef. 

[snip]

From there they commanded the whole room, including the High Table itself and the row of serving-hatches. 

Hall - Dining hall but usually much more antique and formal than in the US.  It is place where assemblies might be held as well as just dining.  Dining Hall in American prep schools is usually pretty utilitarian.  You eat there.  Whereas Hall in English schools often has a connotation of community.  

Scout - I think this might be Oxford specific.  A servant, usually involved in cleaning but apparently covering serving meals as well as odd jobs around the campus.

High Table - The table where the dons, tutors, and administrators (and their guests dine).  Usually at the top of the hall and perpendicular to the tables used by students.

History

There's Japanese data on cherry tree blossoming stretching back to 812. Some commitment. pic.twitter.com/YdQx4HepYf

— Stefan Schubert (@StefanFSchubert) March 6, 2024

 

 

An Insight

Literally just apply for jobs that match your credentials.

Off of twitter, almost no one has a problem with "diversity" - the existence of Black and Asian executives - as vs affirmative action. https://t.co/c6vwnJGeTn

— Wilfred Reilly (@wil_da_beast630) March 4, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

Population density across the world, visualized in 3D

[🎞️ Tyler Morgan-Wall]pic.twitter.com/kkpgBIZgD6

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 4, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

Everything you do comes back to you pic.twitter.com/8ppOjNlaqr

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) March 6, 2024

 

Data Talks

Some therapies seem to make things worse rather than better, at least for some people. https://t.co/wrPTlbamwB pic.twitter.com/AEPPM8lEkr

— Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) March 3, 2024

 

Trees, 1963 by S. R. Badmin

Trees, 1963 by S. R. Badmin

Click to enlarge.

A star to flash in an Iliad

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 48.

There is a lot poetry quoted, I sense, mostly Elizabethan.

The word and nought else

in time endures.

Not you long after,

perished and mute

will last, but the defter

viol and lute,

Hmm.  Can't place it.

Its from Iliad by Humbert Wolfe, a contemporary of Sayer's.  I see I have a couple of his poems in my anthology.  I especially like

Epigram

By Humbert Wolfe

You cannot hope to bribe or twist,

thank God! the British journalist.

But, seeing what the man will do

unbribed, there's no occasion to.

Anyway, The full Iliad, making the argument that poetry endures whereas passing human emotions and events are nought else.  

Iliad 

by Humbert Wolfe

False dreams, all false,

mad heart, were yours.

The word, and nought else,

in time endures.

Not you long after,

perishded and mute,

will last, but the defter

viol and lute.

Sweetely they'll trouble

the listeners

with the cold dropped pebble

of painless verse.

Not you will be offered,

but the poet's false pain.

Mad heart, you have suffered,

and loved in vain.

What joy doth Helen

or Paris have

where these lie still in

a nameless grave?

Her beauty's a wraith

and the boy Paris

muffles in death

his mouth's cold cherries.

Aye! these are less,

that were love's summer,

than old gold phrase

of old blind Homer?

Not Helen's wonder

nor Paris stirs,

but the bright untender

hexameters.

And thus, all passion

is nothing made,

but a star to flash in

an Iliad.

Mad heart, you were wrong!

No love of yours,

but only what is sung,

when love's over, endures.

Why are outrage and ignorance so highly correlated?

From There's a reason Caitlyn Clark isn't making the big bucks by Tom Knighton.  I have little interest in sports in general, compensation in sports in particular, and the imbalances of compensation between men and women's leagues at all.  I just don't spend time or money in this area.

But I am interested in economics and am always frustrated with ideological zealots demonstrate profound ignorance.  Once again, some ignorant fanatics have become incensed by economic realities.  From Knighton.

Sports superstardom has always been a ticket to big money. Look at the salaries that elite professional athletes make, for example. Contracts for hundreds of millions aren’t uncommon in the NFL, NBA, or MLB. I’m not even talking about the future Hall of Famers, necessarily, either.

Kirk Cousins, for example, is a very good football player, but there’s not a lot of talk of him being inducted into Canton. Despite that, he signed a $185 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

But Caitlyn Clark has the kind of hype surrounding her that few athletes ever enjoy. Sure, we’ve seen college phenoms burn out quickly, but they still tend to get paid.

Clark, however, is looking at a whopping $76,000 per year, and some people are big mad about it.

The Today show’s Hoda Kotb was in a fine froth on Tuesday when she found out how much WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark will be making. Clark on Monday became the WNBA’s #1 overall draft pick, and immediately signed with the Indiana Fever for $338,000, which would be a low salary in the NBA for one year. But Clark’s contract was for four years, meaning that she will likely be the WNBA’s standout player until Old Joe Biden is 86 years old for the decidedly workaday sum of $76,535.

An enraged Kotb sputtered: “For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous.” And in comparison to what NBA players make, it is. Victor Wembanyama, who was the #1 pick in 2023’s NBA draft, signed a slightly more lucrative deal than Clark’s; Wembanyama will be pulling down a cool $55 million.

Kotb continued: “There’s just something about this that’s so disturbing. I mean, I picture all the little girls with signs that say, ‘Caitlin!’ but this is what her contract is worth?” Her cohost, Savannah Guthrie, held out hope for better days, saying wistfully: “Hopefully the payday is coming, too.”

Kotb returned to the subject later, on “Today with Hoda & Jenna,” where she said: “I was like, ‘Ah! What’s she gonna get paid?’ Because finally, you can get a real paycheck, and then I saw it, and I was like, ‘This can’t be right.'” According to the New York Post, Kotb “read Clark’s starting salary of $76,535 and asked, ‘So this is what the No. 1 player, who’s now at the WNBA, [is earning]?’” 

There’s a lot of concern with what Clark is starting with compared to the NBA’s number one pick, who got a $12.1 million payday. 

The Babylon Bee jokes about the "Women's Soccer Team Sues to Overturn Unjust Law of Supply and Demand."  Its why so many of the chattering Mandarin Class come across as Marxists.  No respect for property or markets.  

Knighton has some of the numbers.

For one, the WNBA has never turned an actual profit. It’s subsidized by the NBA to a significant degree despite making revenue. In 2019, it made $60 million in revenue, dispersing $12.3 million to teams.

[snip]

Yet let’s go back to 2019 for a moment, the year the WNBA made $60 million. How much did the NBA make? It made $7.92 billion.

That’s 132 times what the WNBA made, plus the were subsidizing a whole other league.

This matters because while Clark may be a once-in-a-generation talent, she plays in a league that sees its most popular team get an average attendance in 2024 just over half of what the NBA’s least popular team gets.

And 2024 was reportedly a very, very good year for the WNBA.

And its not about sexism.

Some people want to make this about sexism, but it’s not. It’s simple economics. If it were purely about sex, then why is it the higher-paid professional men’s lacrosse players are making around $35,000 a year in salary?

Some sports are popular and have a mass audience willing to pay a lot of money for attendance or viewership.  Some sports don't regardless of sex.  

That a phenomenal talent has risen in a league with little viewership, indeed a league which could not afford to pay her what it is already doing were it not subsidies from other leagues.  

It is just reality.  For those who want to become all emotional and declarative such as Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, there is an easy solution as Knighton points out.  Get involved in the league.  Pay to go to games.  Encourage other people to put their time and money where Kotb's emotional interests are.  

Otherwise, this is all either raw ignorance or performative and senseless outrage.  Or a combination.  

Everyone's compensation is a product of both how good we are at what we do combined with how much others are willing to pay for what we are able to do.  The Marxist labor theory of value is still in circulation among the emotional chattering class but it has never survived the brute test of reality.  Someone's work is worth only as rare (quality) it is in a market which demands it and is willing to pay for it.

It is a paradox.  The neo-Marxists of the Mandarin Class really hate the market but the market requires wonderful prosocial behaviors such as effort and excellence and cooperation and trust and raises the quality of life for everyone whereas the labor theory of value has only ever led to poverty and collapse.  

UPDATE:  As always, Babylon Bee manages to nail it.  Both accurately and with humor.

People Angry About Low WNBA Salaries Prepared To Do Anything Except Watch WNBA https://t.co/YFKR8aseHf pic.twitter.com/TKHyFjS7es

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) April 17, 2024

$11 billion spent (some of it being directly from taxes and most of it being indirectly from taxes) on helping 83,000 people with no measurable benefits achieved.

From The Effects of Medical Debt Relief: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments by Raymond Kluender, Neale Mahoney, Francis Wong & Wesley Yin.  From the Abstract.

Two in five Americans have medical debt, nearly half of whom owe at least $2,500. Concerned by this burden, governments and private donors have undertaken large, high-profile efforts to relieve medical debt. We partnered with RIP Medical Debt to conduct two randomized experiments that relieved medical debt with a face value of $169 million for 83,401 people between 2018 and 2020. We track outcomes using credit reports, collections account data, and a multimodal survey. There are three sets of results. First, we find no impact of debt relief on credit access, utilization, and financial distress on average. Second, we estimate that debt relief causes a moderate but statistically significant reduction in payment of existing medical bills. Third, we find no effect of medical debt relief on mental health on average, with detrimental effects for some groups in pre-registered heterogeneity analysis.

Further.  From Paying Off People’s Medical Debt Has Little Impact on Their Lives, Study Finds by Sarah Kliff.  The subheading is A nonprofit group called R.I.P. Medical Debt has relieved Americans of $11 billion in hospital bills. But that did not improve their mental health or their credit scores, a study found.

But a study published by a group of economists on Monday calls into question the premise of the high-profile charity. After following 213,000 people who were in debt and randomly selecting some to work with the nonprofit group, the researchers found that debt relief did not improve the mental health or the credit scores of debtors, on average. And those whose bills had been paid were just as likely to forgo medical care as those whose bills were left unpaid.

A single study study (large and rigorous though it might be) does not a conclusion make.

On the other hand, it is consistent with findings in virtually all other areas of economics and sociology.  People don't get into trouble because of their race or gender or marital status or their access to credit or whatnot.  They get into trouble because of bad decisions and poor behaviors.  Every single damn time.

Of course there is the separate category of people affected by exogenous events such as earthquakes or fires or war or civil disturbance or pandemics or storms or flooding, etc.  Everyone affected is tautologically affected though some more than others (preparation makes a difference) and there are great differences in rates of recovery (back to decisions and behaviors).

$11 billion spent (some of it being directly from taxes and most of it being indirectly from taxes) on helping 83,000 people with no measurable benefits achieved.  

Programs that do not demonstrably improve decision making and behaviors (especially behaviors) are unlikely to make a difference.  At least none have made a difference in the past fifty years.  Simple transfers of resources are always welcome by the recipients but the difficulties in most people lives arise from their own actions, not from limited resources.  

And instead of killing the programs which waste money without achieving benefits, they just go on as barnacles on the commonweal, consuming scarce resources to no useful outcome.  

Almost a Social Law:

Any social program which does not improve values, behaviors and decision-making is guaranteed to waste money and fail to achieve its stated goals. 

 

 

History

The Kazarma Bridge near the modern road from Tiryns to Epidauros in Argolis on the Peloponnese, Greece is dated to the Greek Bronze Age, and it's one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence which is still crossable today. It is the oldest preserved bridge in Europe.

The… pic.twitter.com/Gm1v9lAl2i

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 4, 2024

 

Black Jesus by Jason Eady

Double click to enlarge

Black Jesus 

by Jason Eady

Well, I was eighteen workin' on a road crew in Georgia

And he was a Vietnam vet from Tennessee

He held the posts while I drove the hammer

Rain or shine, side by side, five days a week

And he taught me the blues

And I'd sing for him old Hank Williams tunes

And he'd say, "Boy, the only difference between us

Is your white and my black Jesus"

Well the pay, it was barely legal

And I wasted mine on cigarettes and booze

His went to his woman and his children

And the rest he'd bet on anything that moves

And he taught me the blues

And I'd sing for him old Hank Williams tunes

And he'd say, "Boy, the only difference between us

Is your white and my black Jesus"

Well, I awoke last night to the sound of thunder

And my mind drifted back to that old man

Oh, and I ain't seen him since I left Georgia

Oh, but something tells me we'll meet again

And he taught me the blues

And I'd sing for him ol' Willie Nelson tunes

And he'd say, "Boy, the only difference between us

Is your white and my black Jesus"

When we meet again they'll be nothing between us

It'll just be him, and me, and Jesus

An Insight

The Great Reset is dying as Ford, Apple, and Volvo all slash EV production or give up altogether. At this point Tesla is the only company who can make an EV customers will buy, along with cheap Chinese producers who will eat the Fords and Volvos for lunch. https://t.co/x8eOqMHHIL

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 4, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

Share your cosmic beauty 🌟🌫 pic.twitter.com/9OvxXQmZBu

— Cosmic Gaia (@CosmicGaiaX) March 4, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

Churches are rubbish at hide and seek 🙄🌲 pic.twitter.com/y6vjW9YWN6

— The English Oak Project (@TheKentAcorn) March 4, 2024

 

Data Talks

Scandinavian fertility rates, once the envy of Europe, have plunged far below replacement: 1.45 births per woman in 🇸🇪, 1.4 in 🇳🇴 and just 1.26 in 🇫🇮.
Why have birthrates fallen so low even with world-leading pro-natal supports?
Church attendance offers a clue. https://t.co/fAIePr8frH pic.twitter.com/RwNyDIaPWV

— More Births (@MoreBirths) March 3, 2024

 

Auditorium of the old Burgtheater, 1888 by Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918)

Auditorium of the old Burgtheater, 1888 by Gustav Klimt (Austrian, 1862-1918)

Click to enlarge.

How all occasions do inform against me.

From Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Page 46.

“How all occasions do inform against me!” muttered Harriet to herself. 

This is one of the many occasions where I struggle to keep up with the frequent throwaway lines which are clearly assumed to be widely understood by the reader.  

Definitely Shakespeare.  Maybe Hamlet?  

Yes, Hamlet.  Act IV, Scene IV

How all occasions do inform against me, 

And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, 

If his chief good and market of his time 

Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. 

Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, 

Looking before and after, gave us not 

That capability and god-like reason 

To fust in us unused. 

To accuse especially as a catalyst to an undesired action.  

An Insight

"Today, Jews are treated in sectors of the left as the epitome of whiteness. But any analysis that focuses so relentlessly on the role of privilege, as the left’s does, will be dangerously blind to anti-Semitism, because anti-Semitism itself entails an accusation of privilege." pic.twitter.com/0dvS6B4Os6

— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) March 4, 2024

 

History

3,300-year-old tablet from mysterious Hittite Empire describes catastrophic invasion of four citieshttps://t.co/wdOL22Ojd7

— Nrken19 (@nrken19) March 11, 2024

 

An Insight

John Fowles explains in "The Aristos" (1964) how high IQ can subvert your will to act: "High intelligence leads to multiplicity of interest and a sharpened capacity to foresee the consequences of any action. Will is lost in a labyrinth of hypothesis." Rule 1: Do not lose the will pic.twitter.com/fdGCmyj2cX

— Jash Dholani (@oldbooksguy) March 3, 2024

 

I see wonderful things

Do you agree with him? @David_Boaz @CatoInstitute pic.twitter.com/vADbveadqq

— Students For Liberty (@sfliberty) March 3, 2024

 

Offbeat Humor

Drama queen..😅

📹brindabella_the_wombat pic.twitter.com/HLfBE9rxck

— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) March 3, 2024

 

Data Talks

Incredible stat: the 1% of male adoptees with biological parents who had three+ convictions were responsible for 30% of the sample's convictions.

Crime is very concentrated. pic.twitter.com/HCRE8jPwv7

— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) March 3, 2024

 

Ship in the Evening Sun by Erich Mercker (German, 1891-1973)

Ship in the Evening Sun by Erich Mercker (German, 1891-1973)

Click to enlarge.